Leap of Faith
"Leap of Faith" is the twentieth episode of Miami Vice's fifth season, the third of four "lost episodes" aired after the series finale "Freefall" aired, and the final episode aired on NBC. The episode premiered on June 28, 1989. Summary Crockett & Joey Hardin work with a unit of young policemen to investigate a college professor who has created a new designer drug. Plot Crockett and Tubbs are at a club and spot Joey Hardin (Justin Lazard) and a kid named Peter Ladd, who they are trying to loosen up. Hardin is working on Ladd while Crockett & Tubbs make a drug buy, but someone at the bar recognizes Crockett and a brief barfight ensues, which allows the people Hardin were following to get away. Ladd is taken blindfolded (and under the influence of drugs) to a rooftop where a professor named Terry Baines (Keith Gordon) is waiting. He tells him how wrong it is to think all his problems are related to drugs and to prove he's "one of them", he has to take "that one step", Ladd sees a drug-induced hallucination of a road ahead, but his next step is actually off the roof and down to the street, killing himself. Crockett gets the toxicology report on Ladd and he had 1500 mcg of hallucinogens during his failed flying attempt, and Crockett tries to pull his file up, and it has a priority code preventing access, he has to run it down, and goes to see Captain Cutter (Kiel Martin) (somebody Crockett has had issues with in the past) to find out why he accessed his files on Baines. Cutter tells him about his new YCU ('Y'outh 'C'rimes 'U'nit) who can access places that older cops can't touch. Crockett is skeptical of his efforts and reminds him he has Hardin under already. Cutter tells him Baines got his degree at 16 and can off Hardin quickly if he's made. Cutter's team consists of Ray Mundy (Adam Storke), Jack Andrews (Cameron Dye), and Tania Louis (Laura San Giacomo), Cutter introduces Hardin to them, and it's apparent there are some philosophical differences. Tania has done research on Baines, he teaches dream reality at Bradfield College, but he bases his interpretation of dreams on Poe's Eureka, not Freud, and he's developing a new designer drug called Bliss, which the college funded because of its' value to terminal cancer patients, but his funding was cut off because of more conservative elements in the school, and that set him off. Cutter wants Hardin to contact him if he needs them. Hardin (as Fallon, his cover name) attends Baines' class, and speaks with him but has to leave suddenly to meet with a student named Claire (Jennifer Rubin), who was speaking with Mundy (and attracted Baines' attention) and tells Hardin he got an invite to Baines' party this weekend (so did Hardin), who feels Mundy is undermining what he's doing, and Mundy tells him to butt out. Andrews, Mundy, Tania & Hardin are all at Baines' party, Hardin goes inside Baines' house, breaks into a room to snoop around, Baines walks in and is about to enter the room that Hardin went into when Mundy and Claire were messing around and distracted Baines just long enough to allow Hardin to get away, then he brings him back inside and pulls a knife on Hardin, who denies being in his room, and reminds him about his lack of funds, he has a buyer to help him with his "magic pill", and gets a meet the next day. Mundy & Claire start messing around again and make love, then Claire starts talking about Mundy's work with students, including a girl named Lisa who he cared about which was killed in a boating accident, and Ladd. Claire originally thought Baines was really teaching her things she never though of, but recently is afraid of him. Hardin introduces Baines to Cutter (as Dan Hoffman), and they work on a deal. Hardin calls Mundy thanking him for the save, and asks him to have Tania do a search on Lisa, the girl Claire was referring to earlier. Claire calls Mundy wanting to meet him at Baines' office in 30 minutes regarding his files. They arrive and Mundy is reviewing his files on the drug Bliss when Baines and his goons show up, and they both end up dead on the waterfront, apparently from an auto accident. Cutter's team is falling apart, feeling they will never get Baines now, but he feels Hardin can pull them together, and he goes to talk with Tania & Andrews, who talk about their experiences with Cutter, and the team stays together. Cutter finds Baines was accepted to a fellowship to the Menniger Clinic but left under a cloud after his roommate committed suicide, and Tania pulled info on Lisa Wells who was a patent lawyer working for Baines, pressured him to marry her and she ended up dying in a boat accident, and she, like Ladd and Baines' crew, were from broken homes and a similar emotional makeup, including spending time in psychatric clinics. Andrews stops by to see Baines, showing him a bruise made by his father (a drinker), who is the mayor in a small town, is having suicidal thoughts, and wants Baines' help. Andrews is given a drink laced with Baines' drug and starts having hallucinations while Baines, Pig & Antonio watch. When they go in to get Andrews, he attacks Pig & Antonio and runs away, and wanders onto a highway, thinks he is seeing a cruise ship, but is actually a semi-truck, and Hardin pulls him away just in time. Hardin stops to see Baines who says his buyer left due to the heat, and with the recent deaths on campus, he's not likely to find another, and wants to meet with Hardin that night, who appears with Andrews, blindfolded, to take the same walk as Ladd. During this time, Baines admits to killing Lisa and Ladd and getting kicks from doing it. Then Andrews & Hardin pull their guns and arrest Baines (Andrews was wearing the wire), but a security guard shows up and Baines pulls a knife threatening to kill the guard if they don't drop guns, when they do Pig & Antonio pick up theirs and plan to kill the cops and plant drugs on them. Then Andrews insults Pig to the point the cop grabs his gun and shoots him, then wrestles with Antonio while Hardin & Baines go at it. When Cutter arrives, Baines is flipped over the roof, then slips out of Hardin's grip and falls to his death. Cutter is happy with his team's performance and plan to continue working together. Notes *This was an unsold pilot for a Miami Vice spinoff, as the credits list "Starring" and "Guest Stars" after the title is shown. The series would have resembled another young police drama at the time, 21 Jump Street, which was one of the shows credited with Miami Vice's demise. *Because of the episode being a pilot, Tubbs only appears in the opening sequence, Crockett appears just briefly, and no appearances by Gina, Trudy, Switek & Castillo. *Laura San Giacomo would star with Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman in 1990, then later played Maya Gallo in the hit comedy Just Shoot Me from 1997-2003. *The episode deals with designer drugs, which was previously mentioned in "Better Living Through Chemistry", and remains a problem today. *The end credits (just like in "Heart of Darkness") feature scenes from the show and not the usual Miami stock shots. *This marks Justin Lazard's third appearance in the fifth season of Miami Vice as Joey Hardin. (While his name in "Miami Squeeze" was stated to be Joey Chandler, this is likely just a cover name as he was operating undercover at the time, similar to Crockett's "Burnett" or Tubbs' "Cooper".) *Keith Gordon played Arnie Cunningham in Stephen King's Christine in 1983 and then as Jason Melon (Rodney Dangerfield's son) in the 1986 cult classic Back to School. *Despite technically taking place before "Freefall", this and the other lost episodes appear after the series finale on the recent DVD releases. Music *"Paradise City" by Guns N' Roses (opening at club) *"Kiss Me When I Get Back" by Tom Tom Club (at Baines' party) *"What I Am" by Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians (Claire & Mundy making love) Quotes *"All we need is Janis, Jimi, and a little social conscience!" -- Crockett talking about the club Category:Miami Vice Season 5 Episodes